Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • F03D—WIND MOTORS
  • F03D3/00—Wind motors with rotation axis substantially perpendicular to the air flow entering the rotor 
  • F03D3/005—Wind motors with rotation axis substantially perpendicular to the air flow entering the rotor  the axis being vertical
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F05—INDEXING SCHEMES RELATING TO ENGINES OR PUMPS IN VARIOUS SUBCLASSES OF CLASSES F01-F04
  • F05B—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO WIND, SPRING, WEIGHT, INERTIA OR LIKE MOTORS, TO MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS COVERED BY SUBCLASSES F03B, F03D AND F03G
  • F05B2240/00—Components
  • F05B2240/10—Stators
  • F05B2240/13—Stators to collect or cause flow towards or away from turbines
  • F05B2240/132—Stators to collect or cause flow towards or away from turbines creating a vortex or tornado effect
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
  • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
  • Y02E10/70—Wind energy
  • Y02E10/74—Wind turbines with rotation axis perpendicular to the wind direction

Definitions

• Wind power plant of cyclone type and method of obtaining energy from such Wind power plant of cyclone type and method of obtaining energy from such.
• the present invention relates to a method of obtaining energy from a wind power plant comprising a tower with a generator-driving turbine, the axis of which is parallel and coaxial to the tower, whereby a cyclone is generated in the open-ended tower with a side inlet for the wind, so that the low-pressure region in the center of the cyclone generates the driving power for the air flow through the turbine.
• the invention also relates to a wind power plant of cyclone type comprising a base, an open-ended tower arranged above the base and being provided with a side inlet for the wind to generate a cyclone in the tower, a turbine having its axis parallel to the tower and inlet(s) through the base and outlet(s) to the center of the cyclone in the tower and being connected to drive a generator arranged in the base.
• a wind power plant of the above-mentioned type is known from US 4,935,639 A, where it is presented as previously known technology.
• the plates give rise to a disturbance in the airflow by causing turbulence. It is evident from the document that limited power is obtained by means of this device and the document proposes to modify this known technology in order to increase the output power. A very complicated and expensive device is proposed.
• a purpose of the invention is to improve the power-generation of wind power plants of the mentioned kind in a way that results in a low investment cost as well as high reliability and low costs of maintenance.
• the tower By rotating the tower during operation in order to keep the wind inlet towards the wind, a wind inlet that provides a completely laminar flow can be attained.
• the power-extraction is increased. This is due to the fact that the laminar flow changes direction and speed several times for each rotation of its whirlwind movement and each retardation and acceleration results in kinetic energy being transformed into heat energy whereby the rise velocity in the tower is increased.
• a thermal formation is achieved in a very simple and efficient manner.
• the elliptical shape in the horizontal plane can be obtained using a tower with a circular cross section, which leans with respect to the vertical at an angle that preferably is 10-30 degrees. The leaning is then preferably away from the wind or directly towards the wind.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view, partially cut up, of a wind power plant according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention
• Fig. 2a is a side view of the wind power plant according to Fig. 1
• Fig. 2b is a section on line b - b in Fig. 2a;
• Fig. 2c is a section on line c - c in Fig. 2a;
• Fig. 3 is a view from below in Fig. 1 ;
• Fig. 4a is a side view of an alternative embodiment of a wind power plant according to the invention.
• Fig. 4b is a section on line d - d in Fig. 4a.
• a wind power plant having a base 11 and a rotatable tower 12 mounted onto the base is shown.
• the tower 12 has a circular cross section (see b - b in Fig. 2a) and a wind inlet 13 as illustrated in Fig. 2b.
• the wind inlet extends along the entire height of the tower.
• the lower portion of the tower is provided with a wedge 14, which makes the tower lean away from the wind and this wedge is horizontally mounted in a bearing 15 in the upper portion of the base and the rotation of the tower is driven by a motor (not shown) and the control is automatic so that the wind inlet is always facing the wind.
• the tower is hence rotated around the vertical axis of the bearing 15.
• a substantially horizontal turbine 19 in the lower portion of the tower drives the hydraulic pump 18 via a hollow axis, a tubular shaft 20, which is parallel to and coaxial to the tower 12.
• the turbine 19 has a venturi-shaped inlet 21 to which a number of helical inlet ducts 22 are connected.
• the tower has a rotor 23 coaxial to the tower and the turbine. It has a shaft 24 that is arranged through the tubular shaft 20 and is connected thereto by means of a freewheel coupling 25.
• the freewheel coupling is a standard machine element and therefore not shown in detail.
• the shaft 24 is provided with a universal joint 26 and is connected to a water brake 27, whereby the rotor 23 heats up the water in the water brake.
• the rotor 23 has three blades 28, which leave the center of the tower free, at least for a portion the size of the turbine 19, see e.g. Fig. 2b. Since the tower of the present exemplary embodiment leans, the blades 28 are inclined in such a manner that they are vertical in the position when they are hit by the wind. This inclining or curved design of the blades also results in that the rear side of the blade will contribute to, by helical action, directing air upwards and out of the tower as the blade rotates.
• the air will form a cyclone, the vortex ("eye") of which is positioned right before the outlet of the turbine 19. This is the region of the lowest pressure and the cyclone will therefore suck up air through the turbine whereby the turbine rotates. The air will then rise upwards spirally and escape from the top of the tower.
• the formed cyclone will be so weak that the rotor 23 drives the turbine 19 via the freewheel coupling 25 between the shafts 24 and 20.
• the rotor 23 will disturb the cyclone formation slightly but it yields gains at low wind speeds and the combination of cyclone formation and rotor 23 is a compromise shown to be favorable in many applications. Since the blades 28 of the rotor 23 only cover a minor portion of the tower radius and leave the center of the tower free, their implact is acceptable. However, in alternative embodiments it may be chosen to leave out the rotor 23 and instead use an empty tower.
• the heat generated in the water brake 27 can for instance be used in a district heating network.
• the water brake can be electronically controlled from zero power and upward in order to provide the power plant with the desired total relationship between output heat energy and electric power at any instant.
• the tower 12 has a circular cross section, which means that the cross section from a horizontal point of view (Fig. 2c) is elliptical.
• This design has shown to considerably increase the output power of the wind power plant as compared to a design with a vertical tower having a circular cross section. This is probably due to the fact that the air flow in the formed cyclone will be retarded and accelerated twice per rotation, i.e. there will be four changes in velocity per rotation, which results in kinetic energy being transformed into heat energy.
• the increased air temperature decreases the air density and consequently increases the vertical rise velocity of the air in the cyclone and increases the power of the turbine.
• the diameter of the tower can for example be 10-15 m for a medium sized power plant and the tower height can for example be about 3 times the diameter.
• the elliptical tower shape in the horizontal plane is obtained through a tower with a circular cross section that leans with respect to the vertical.
• the leaning would typically be at an angle of 2-40 degrees and most preferred 10-30 degrees.
• Figs. 4a-b illustrate an alternative embodiment where the tower is vertically arranged and the non-circular elliptical shape in a horizontal cross section is achieved by designing the erect tower to be elliptical in itself, see the cut on line d - d in Fig. 4a shown in Fig. 4b. Also this tower is oriented such that the large axis of the ellipse is arranged to be parallel to the direction of the incoming wind.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Sustainable Development (AREA)
• Sustainable Energy (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Wind Motors (AREA)
• Cyclones (AREA)

Priority Applications (10)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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ID=20291175

Family Applications (1)

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Citations (5)

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• 2003
  • 2003-04-30 SE SE0301267A patent/SE526993C2/sv unknown
• 2004
  • 2004-04-29 PT PT04730400T patent/PT1623112E/pt unknown
  • 2004-04-29 ES ES04730400T patent/ES2319767T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2004-04-29 AT AT04730400T patent/ATE418007T1/de active
  • 2004-04-29 CA CA2523793A patent/CA2523793C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2004-04-29 AU AU2004235276A patent/AU2004235276B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2004-04-29 DE DE602004018488T patent/DE602004018488D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2004-04-29 EP EP04730400A patent/EP1623112B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2004-04-29 CN CNB2004800114488A patent/CN100371584C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2004-04-29 SI SI200431053T patent/SI1623112T1/sl unknown
  • 2004-04-29 DK DK04730400T patent/DK1623112T3/da active
  • 2004-04-29 PL PL04730400T patent/PL1623112T3/pl unknown
  • 2004-04-29 ZA ZA200508652A patent/ZA200508652B/en unknown
  • 2004-04-29 WO PCT/SE2004/000664 patent/WO2004097216A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2004-04-29 US US10/554,351 patent/US7364399B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2005
  • 2005-11-01 NO NO20055087A patent/NO330218B1/no not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2009
  • 2009-03-12 CY CY20091100282T patent/CY1108877T1/el unknown

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